Big thanks to our sponsors for helping out with the prizes:
Freedom Footbags
Fourkast Footbags
Bomb Footbags

And to the Judges for taking the time to judge all the submissions:
Milan Benda
Mark Monistere
Jeremy O’Wheel

And to Eric Chang for the video!

With money on the line, and first place in the Shred Global Season standings, 22 freestylers took to the challenge of having the best 3 trick combo, with the first and third trick being the same trick started on different feet. This video, shot in order from lowest point score to highest point score, shows how the competition panned out.

Enjoy! (And please leave comments on the youtube video as well as this page to show your support for events like this!!!!)

After the awesome reception to event number 1, Shred Global is pleased to announce the opening of event #2: the Luns. The Luns stands for Link of UNusual Surfaces.

The deadline for this event will be 11:59 PM PST January 1st

The prizes being awarded for this event are:
1) points towards the $500 grand prize given to the person with the most points after all 4 events
2)$50 to the winner of the event
3) a Hania bag.
4) some various sponsored items from Freedom Footbags, Fourkast Footbags, and Bomb Bags.

The rules are as follows.
1) One submission video per person, sent to submissions@shredglobal.com on or before 11:59 PM PST January 1st.
2) The link (2-tricks) must be started from a drop (with warmups kicks allowed prior to the first trick in the link) and finished on the stall of the second trick (No Hand catch is needed on this one)
3) The original set can be from anywhere you want, but the first catch cannot be done to a toe stall, a clipper stall, or an Osis position. Anywhere else is legal. (EX: a legal combo would be clipper -> stepping Heel -> ducking outside)
4) the judging criteria will be Creativity (having to set off one of the UNS catches should be fun to watch), cleanliness, and of course difficulty of the trick, with all three having the same importance for the sake of this event.
5) Any questions on this please email to submissions@shredglobal.com

Have fun guys, we look forward to all of the great submissions!

Fourkast Footbag Company
Location: Oregon, USA
Website: www.fourkast.com
See all Fourkast Posts

It was very nice to see this morning the official announcement that the 2011 World Footbag Championships will indeed be held in the great city of Helsinki Finland. Thanks to Tuomas Kärki, Jukka Peltola, and Tukka Antikainen for the hard work pushing this thing forward. Worlds is no easy task, thus the community greatly appreciates the sacrifice as it pushes our sport along. More on this epic event as details unfold!

Well here we go folks. It is time to get this season started, and as previously announced we will be holding a 4 event season where the winner gets 500 dollars cashola! Aside from that, there will be numerous prizes handed out for each event, along with prizes for people who place high in the final standings.

The prizes for this event as of now (but possibly to grow between now and the end of this event)
1) Points in the season standings for the $500 prize
2) $50 to the winner
3) A Hania bag to the winner (with a letter of congratulations from the Footbag Princess herself)
4) A Fourkast Shirt / Pair of Shorts to the second place contestant
5) A Freedom Footbag Shirt to the third place contestant

The first event will be the BSOS 3. This event be judged on on three factors by objective judges of our choosing.
1) The cleanliness of the combo.
2) The creativity of the combo.
3) The difficulty of the combo.

The Rules for the BSOS 3 are as follows..
1) The combo must start from a drop and end on a catch
2) The only tricks allowed after the drop are the 3 moves of the combo (Warmup kicks/stalls allowed after drop)
3) The Combo must consist of any trick sandwiched between a trick done on each side
-Trick A > Trick B > Trick A other side- is the correct format
[EX.] Clipper > Ripwalk > Flip Clipper would be a valid entry
4) One Entry per contestant will be submitted by Email before December 1, 2010 to Submissions@shredglobal.com along with your Name and postal address (for prize sending)

So lets to it guys, we wanna see some creative, flashy, innovative combos!!!

Fourkast Footbag Company
Location: Oregon, USA
Website: www.fourkast.com
See all Fourkast Posts

In a wonderful end of the season performance, David Clavens has once again taken the title of Funtastik Summer Classic Champion. This may be the final Funtastiks, thus making Mr. Clavens its final champion in fact. A great title indeed! You can see the video of his work here;

Here are the final results of that event;

Open Routines:

1. David Clavens
2. Ken Somolinos
3. Scott Bevier

Circle:
1. David Clavens
2. Jay Boychuk
3. Ken Somolinos
4. Scott Bevier

Shred 30:
David Clavens

Also, here is video of Fourkast Team player Scott Bevier, taking 3rd at that event. Hopefully we will have the 2nd place video soon, enjoy!

Fourkast Footbag Company
Location: Oregon, USA
Website: www.fourkast.com
See all Fourkast Posts

With a little over a month to go, the 2010 US Open Freestyle Footbag Championships has a new logo to sport. Here are Fourkast we are looking forward to this high profile event, which will be our first stop in the ‘Summer of Footbag’ tour. Next stop, the 2010 World Footbag Championships in Oakland California!

2010 US Open Freestyle Footbag Championships
July 24th and 25th, 2010
Nautilus Inc,
16400 SE Nautilus Dr
Vancouver, WA 98683
Event Starts at 1pm Saturday and Sunday

Fourkast Footbag Company
Location: Oregon, USA
Website: www.fourkast.com
See all Fourkast Posts

Article by Nick Landes

I’ve found that a great method of learning new tricks and mastering old ones is to break the trick down in your head. Imagine yourself doing the trick in slow motion, from start to finish. See if you can pick up on any form alterations you could make to improve your game, such as holding your hand in a different spot to have better balance, flexing your leg a bit more when doing dexs to increase speed, planting in a different position to better stick an osis, or even just realizing that you need to raise your knee a bit higher so that you can land softer. By slowly thinking through and plotting the movements you will be taking, it gives you a better mental image of what you want to do, so it’s easier for you to send those messages to your body. Remember, footbag is a full body sport.

Also, a few freestylers I have spoken with have told me that they have experienced “Hang Time”, or a brief period of time where the bag seems to slow down to the freestyler. I believe this, in part, is due to the bag moving along an arc, and if viewed from above, the bag on top of the arc appears to float while it’s peaking. This is the time that I usually use to start the downtime component of my trick to make sure I stall it well.

Now, the other advantage of this method is it will actually help you in real time with your footbag game. If you can mentally see a trick happening in slow motion, then you can understand on a different timeline, and if you can focus in on the bag during the arc, you have seemingly a few seconds of time to prepare the next concept, and make sure you stick the stall, so that you can continue your freestyle with more balance and greater focus.

Step 1: Slow down trick concepts mentally to get better form
Step 2: Practice concepts with proper breathing (explained in a different segment)
Step 3: Learn to relax during shred and perceive in slow motion at the same time

====================================================================================================================================================================================

I have heard in other sports and other high intensity acitivities, people have reported perceiving time slower than normal as well though, and that caught my interest about three years ago. Books have been written about it (The Peaceful Warrior was a great one) and is referred to as being “in the moment”. A state of mind that allows for greater processing of information because the mind is clear from all other distractions. I remembered that I had experienced it a few times during play, but had not been fully conscious of it. After attempting to recreate this experience on purpose, with no success, I realized that it’s not something that I could actually focus on doing, it was something that I had to relax into, something I had to surrender to.

There was one time, during a session with Red in the basement on Christmas Eve (no joke) that I had such an experience. I had the intent to break a world record. The record was 17 contacts of Paradox Legbeater >Paradox Atom Smasher>Legbeater>repeat, or Rubberman II, which are 4add or higher moves. Just before I went to start I thought about just relaxing and letting the concepts happen. The first five contacts were a bit uncontrolled, but I just unfocused and all of the sudden I understood the tricks better than I ever had before, it was just a pattern laid out in front of me and all I had to do was follow it. It all seemed so easy I couldn’t understand why footbag didn’t always feel that way, and even though I felt all of those things, I didn’t think them. My mind was absolutely clear. Red wasn’t there anymore, the music wasn’t playing, I wasn’t in a basement with low ceilings. It was just me and the footbag. I completed the drill four times through, 24 contacts, and ended with a hand seal. I would hope that the knowledge of this experience allows more freestylers to become aware of what is possible through footbag.

Fourkast Footbag Company
Location: Oregon, USA
Website: www.fourkast.com
See all Fourkast Posts

Article by Asmus Helms

Footbag is what some high school students play when they get high, and a consistent element at music festivals across the world. It is however also a sport performed by serious athletes. But why do young men and women want to spend numerous hours every week practicing a sport that reminds people of river dancing and has no financial benefit? Why do people with jobs or students spend time organizing clubs, tournaments and making videos? And why do these same people spend considerable amounts of money going to Worlds and other distant tournaments every year?

One of the main reasons many of us to keep on coming back is of course the amazing community we have, both locally and internationally. This article is going to focus on entirely different aspects of why this sport is so great however.

One of the main reasons why I love footbag is how much you can work on a single trick, a single motion. An example of this is one of the most popular tricks in footbag – the Ripwalk. A perfect Ripwalk is done without force, when the body and not the head is in control. It doesn’t take a lot of strength, but rather hours of practice. There isn’t a set result, but you have to slowly learn how the move is supposed to feel. It is this perfect feeling that make many of us practice for hours. The motion is so compressed that it is in fact possible to find the absolute perfect Ripwalk. The three tapping sounds a perfect Ripwalk makes can be very satisfying, and I am sure a lot of us can recognize a Ripwalk solely from the sound it makes. There are thousand of tricks like this in footbag.

Video of Jay Boychuk doing Ripwalks:

I love when it is not only a perfect Ripwalk that makes you feel this satisfaction, but an entire run. It is a great feeling to be in this zone. I don’t mean in the zone like when Vasek talks about tora, that’s on a whole other level. I would rather compare it to the Buddhist word “zen”; moments of enlightenment acquired through direct practice and meditation.

In everyday life there isn’t always a lot of interesting drama around us. But in less than a minute, one good combo can depict great drama and true storytelling. The use of inspiration from the other players in the circle, the change in pace and intensity, the special style and personality you reflect with your game – all of this makes you enter a unique mindset that can be felt by the viewer. This is why I think a normal freestyle circle is still simply one of the best parts of footbag. It is the way we should expose our sport to the public, and it’s the one place where freestyle can be seen in its full glory.


I love freestyle footbag.

Fourkast Footbag Company
Location: Oregon, USA
Website: www.fourkast.com
See all Fourkast Posts

This guy is from Oulu, Finland. He has been playing footbag for almost
10 years. He is my personal footbag archnemesis, one of the nicest
guys in footbag and has one of the most interesting styles in Europe.
Fourkast is proud to bring an interview with Tuukka Antikainen:

Asmus: Hello Tuukka How are you?

Tuukka: Yo Yo Yo! I’m great! Enjoying a free day.

Asmus: Let’s start with some history. When and how did you start to play footbag?

Tuukka: I had kicked some hacky at school ’99, but didn’t really start back
then as I was too much into football (soccer). Summer 2000 I was
kicking hacky with my friend and we got idea to look for it from
internet. We found footbag.organd watched some move clips. I remember
watching ripwalk and thinking: “it would be awesome to learn that
trick”. Next day I was at a midsummer festival and I saw some guys
playing footbag. Those guys were Ville Laakso, Janne Pesonen with some
of their friends. I walked closer to witness Ville hitting 8 ripwalks
in a row! It was mind-blowing for me in that moment and I really got
hooked instantly.

Asmus: You got into BAP back in 2003. How did you do that? What was the
experience like?

Tuukka: Year 2003 Euros were held in Frankfurt and Worlds in Prague. I had
practiced hard and was excited to meet all my footbag heroes for the
first time. I had attended 2002 Euros and met the Czech posse, but
back then by footbag heroes I meant North-American players. I had
watched Pure Freestyle, Sultans of shred, Worlds 99 and Aggressive
Grounds through over and over again, and players like Rick Reese, Ryan
Mulroney, Peter Irish, Sunil and Ahren were my ultimate heroes.

So when I entered my first circle at Euros with Sunil, Ales and Ahren… wow.

About getting into BAP… To be honest it was bit of a surprise for me
when I was chosen. I had quite a unique trick selection back then,
using a lot of inspins, ducking downtime moves and toe shuffle. I was
also shredding a lot, especially during Worlds. I remember having
great sessions with Yacine, Sunil and Tuan. Tuan and I played almost
the whole night together. Still I wasn’t really trying for BAP yet; I
thought maybe next year I will try to convince everyone. So when it
was time to announce new BAP players I just kept shredding in a circle
until in the middle of a run I heard my name. I can’t remember if I
dropped, I was shocked from excitement as I walked to meet my new
posse members.

Asmus: You have an interesting and varied game how did you attain that? Could
you tell a little about your footbag freestyle philosophy?

Tuukka: I’ve always been interested in hitting not so popular tricks. Scott
Bevier has really been an inspiration for me with his trick selection.
I have quite good basics from the earlier years and now I just tryout
different stuff, watch a lot of videos and try to use tricks I find
fun. These days my footbag philosophy is to have fun. Not to take it
too seriously anymore, play for myself, enjoy it.

Asmus: Where do you see you in your freestyle career right now? What place
does footbag have in your life right now? Where do you want to take
your game?

Tuukka: I’ve played freestyle almost 10 years now. I’m not trying to reach the
stars anymore. I still want to improve and learn new stuff, but I also
listen to my body and don’t try to do stuff that hurts. I also don’t
feel obligated to learn everything. So what if I can’t hit something
on my flipside, I couldn’t care less. When I was really practicing
hard (before 2006) I tried to learn everything, but now I rather
concentrate on elements I enjoy. Lots of inspins, symp dlos, weird
stuff like strange rakes, fairy swirling, whizzs, gyro toes, downtime
ducking stuff accompanied with my basic shuffle shred. I really enjoy
playing now when I have given myself a freedom to choose what I want
to learn and what I don’t have to. Freestyle is still very important
for me and I will keep playing for many more years if my body allows
it. I’m also going to compete for a couple more years for sure.

Asmus: Finland seems to have one of the strongest scenes at the moment, with
both young talent and a lot of older great players. Who do you think
make people in Finland so good at footbag?

Tuukka: Who or what? I don’t know. I think other countries have amazing
freestylers (and net players) as well. It is the dedication to the
sport what makes you good. Of course if you are talented that helps a
lot too, but people who are really dedicated to practice hard and also
think what they are practicing will become great players for sure.
Think about Vasek, Clavens, Felix, Jorden, Milan, Anssi and Jay (he
will be rocking soon). Practice, practice, practice.

In Finland many players have a good style and I think it’s kind of a
Finnish trademark or something. That is something Finnish scene might
have created as we always call “the” tricks and try to help younger
players to clean their styles. As hard it is to imagine Felix and Juho
didn’t always have a perfect style.

Also I have to say that Finnish Footbag Association has worked well in
past organizing tournaments, supporting players’ trips abroad etc.

Asmus: It seems like everybody can beat everybody in competition in Finland.
Who do you think is the best at the moment?

Tuukka: Hah, well that’s a hard question. It depends on what we are looking
for. In my opinion Felix and Juho are the two best routine players in
Finland as they really know what a good show is about. They are both
also very technical circle players. But when it comes to technicality
Anssi and Toni are there too. They both also have very good
consistency. In competitions anything can happen and if you make
mistakes then there are a lot of players ready to take the chance like
Aleksi, I, Tuomas, Santeri, Samu, Lauri… Everyone is capable of
winning the whole thing.

The best… for me it is still Felix, he is still just an amazing player.

Asmus: You made a really good long video from the NY Jam in Jyväskylä. How
was that jam?

Tuukka: As an organizer I think the jam worked out well. We had 3 sessions
with total of 13 hours time to play. The best Finnish players were
there accompanied with Jay Boychuck and Matt Bailey. On the sidelines
we had some sauna and swimming in the icy water action going on and
some parties of course. NYJ is the biggest freestyle event in Finland
and we work on making it better every year. We also welcome foreign
players to join the fun next year. We’ve had a couple of guests in the
past years and all of them said they loved it.

Asmus: I hear Felix was there. How is he doing?

Tuukka: He is doing great. I think you have to ask Felix to get more detailed
answer as I don’t feel it is my place to talk about him too much.
Let’s stick with me.

Asmus: You have currently been to 50 footbag jams/tournaments. What was your favorite?

Tuukka: I have so many good memories from different tournaments. All the NYJs
have been a lot of fun. Berlin Worlds were really nice. Finnish Champs
2000 was my tournament, Budapest 2002 my first Euros, Prague 2003 my
first Worlds and for that reason they all have a special meaning for
me. Basically every Worlds I’ve attended has been awesome.

Finally I think Worlds 2003 is my favorite. First Worlds, meeting many
of my footbag heroes (Ryan, Rippin, Kenny Shults, Sunil, Peter Irish,
Yacine and so on),shredding with them every day, being chosen into
BAP, hanging out with Honza and Ales, getting to know the scene for
real. Yes that was an awesome tournament for me.

Asmus: You just went to the Open De France. How was it?

Tuukka: It was my first time in Paris. I really enjoyed the city. I want to
thank the organizers: the tournament was well organized, there was
food available, gym was good, lots of players. What didn’t work was
the schedule as there were some delays every day. I know that it is
quite common with footbag tournaments, but I think we should really
work on following the schedule. After all it is only fair for the
athletes who have practiced countless of hours to do their best. Maybe
we really need to start scratching people who are late as it really
isn’t so hard to come on time.

Asmus: One of my favorite things about footbag is how we are like one big
family. One of my best examples of that is when you one late night at
worlds 2006 came up to me and some of the Swiss crew and told us you
where getting married. What is your favorite thing about footbag?

Tuukka: Yes. We truly are one big family. Everyone is nice and whenever you
meet a new player you come along instantly. Even if I can’t attend so
many international tournaments and I haven’t seen some of the people
for a year or three, when we finally reunite it feels like we are best
friends. I really love that in footbag community.

For me footbag freestyle itself is also a way to express myself and to
relax. When you shred you must have 100% concentration on it and all
the worries will fade away. It is good place to escape the cruel world

So favorite things:

1. Friendly community = own family

2. The possibilities footbag gives to express yourself are endless

Asmus: What is your least favorite thing?

Tuukka: 1. Injuries. They kill the joy. I quit freestyling for almost 2 years
because I lost the fun as it hurt to play. During the break I found
the fun of footbag net though.

2. Incapability. Sometimes it is very annoying to having these
wonderful ideas in your mind and as you try to express yourself you
just fail as you can’t hit what you want. Incapability to hit what I
want pushes me forward the most at the moment.

Asmus: One of the things I always do in these interviews is to ask the last
person I interview to come up with a question for the next. The last
person I interviewed was Ethan “Red” Husted. His question is “What
simple footbag move gives/gave you the most problems? (What is your
secret shame move?)”

Asmus: Well, what it is?

Tuukka: Hah, a secret shame move I think it must be flipside pixie set. I
really skooled it like crazy back in the days, but it is still really
not consistent at all, which is funny since my better pixie is the
strongest element in my shred. Actually it is not a secret, but fits
the description otherwise. The trick could be for example flip smear.

Asmus: What do you want to ask the next person?

Tuukka: When are you coming to Finland’s New Year’s Jam?

Asmus: Do you have any shout-outs? Any final comments?

Tuukka: If you want to be one of the bests, keep on pushing it day after day.
It is not fun all the time, but it will pay off later. Remember to
listen to your body. Injuries suck. If you lose motivation in
freestyle try footbag net instead. Many freestylers have found new
aspects from it. Ask Sébastien Duchesne, Yves Kreil, Karim Daouk,
Jemery Mirken…

Fourkast Footbag Company
Location: Oregon, USA
Website: www.fourkast.com
See all Fourkast Posts

New Honza Video Link

I don’t think Honza Weber needs much of an introduction. He is the second most winning freestyle footbag player in recent years. He has played for nearly ten years and is from Prague, CZ.

Asmus: Hello Honza. How are you?

Honza: Hello, thanks for asking, I am doing very well. Just today I played foosball with Rippin`s friend, who is like number 2 in the World and came here for the Czech Foosball Champs, so it was a great experience.

Asmus: Let’s start at the beginning. You started playing footbag back in 2001. How did that happen?

Honza: Long story short ☺ I was lucky to be attending the same high school as couple of guys, who were the first ones to play in Czech. I was kinda shy back then to ask them if I can join their circle, so I was just watching them and started playing some time later with my classmate and after 2 months I was better than those guys, which was great feeling ☺

Asmus: And then next year you got 2. at euros and the year after that 4th at worlds. How was it attending your first worlds?

Honza: Ye, it was astonishing! I was really really happy about my 2nd place at Euros 02 in Budapest, it was a huge success for me because the competition was just so tough that year- all the german players came as well as the Finns, simply amazing tournament and experience.
Actually my first Worlds attendance was also in 02 in San Francisco, but I was eliminated in the semis. I had good routine and was quite in shape, but I was just unexperienced and there was some mess up with the schedule, so I had to go on the stage without warming up and I did not do well ☹ The next year I came a lot stronger with better style and routine, but knee injury held me back. Actually I figured out I had still been unexperienced and just practiced too much during couple weeks before the tournament. I still should have been 3rd because my routine was just a lot better and harder than Yacine`s who was actually 3rd. I guess I would not care that much, but since it was first big tournament in my home city, where my friends and parents could see me, I wanted a podium finish which I deserved, but the judging was very sad and disappointing for me..

Asmus: What where your goals and thoughts on the sport in those early years?

Honza: I was just so obessesed with the sport! I wanted to compete, to go to every tournament, to win as much as possible, to beat the best players, to prove I could also be one of the best, to invent new moves, to make videos and DVDs, to leave legacy, to be remembered! It was just unbelievable! Wonderful time, but a lot yet to achieve..

Asmus: You, Ales and Vasek really blew up back then. How was your relationship, was it friendly competition? In what ways did you influence each other?

Honza: Well, occasionally we had some fights because we were young and silly, but overall we really supported each other and we were giving each other advices on routines and for example I chose them music and did the basic choreography for their doubles routine in 03 and also for their singles in 03 and 04 in Montreal. In return they helped me with my style and some moves I was not able to hit like eggbeaters, quantums and symposiums. I think the strongest relationship was between 02 and 04. We formed a great team and I really enjoy to remember those times!

Asmus: Last year at worlds you looked in better shape than ever. Do you agree and why was that?

Honza: True, I was about to quit in the whole 2007 because I could not find any motivation and neither inspiration for the game and after another dissapointment with the results at Worlds 07 I was almost sure I was gonna quit, but decided to wait for another year and to think it through. I was kinda lost in the whole 08 and did not do well at tournaments and did not achieve much in other parts of my life, so I decided to make radical life changes. Instead of quitting I started to take it seriously, I lost 12 kilos in 3 months and that helped my game a lot. I have also changed the attitude and you could have seen the results during the summer in Berlin. This year I expect to be even much stronger in much better shape for the summer, but to be able to go to Worlds I still need to get some sponsor because it is just too expensive for us in Czech. So if anyone is interested…?

Asmus: Now, back to the future. How does an average day in the life of Honza look like?

Honza: Well, I usually wake up at 8 and immediately go to check my email, which wakes me up even more. Then I have a cup of coca or mint tea with honey ☺ I do not really eat in the morning, so after the morning beverage I start to either work on some articles for the school lessons (I am doing masters in economic policies and history) or when I have time I work on some footbag promotional materials- I am trying to put together some professional material for potential sponsors, which is actually a lot of work if you want to do it properly. After the lunch I go to school for couple hours (I am just sooo happy I managed to schedule all the lessons in the afternoon, so I do not have to wake up early ☺ ) When I get back I usually go to kick and workout and then I have a dinner. I watch the news in the evening and then it depends how tired I am. Sometimes I still do some work to school or for the promotion or I just watch a movie and fall asleep ☺

Asmus: What part of your game are you working on right now?

Honza: Actually I am not really trying to practice new moves or combos anymore. Instead I have just been practicing some cool moves, which look good for the audience, trying to hit the normal stuff with big bags I have for demos (either the glowing bags or juggling bags I got from Peter Irish). Lately I have been also practicing freestyle with football because people demand it during the demos. Of course I still go for a normal session, but I just enjoy the stuff I can already hit and just trying to make it cleaner with better style. Style is everything! When 2 people are doing the same it is definitely not the same! I wish people could understand that and stop trying to hit insanities with no style and execution.. :/

Asmus: In the video included here you play in the new Nucleus shoe. What do you think about it?

Honza: Ye, actually I was quite surprised by the quality of the shoes. I was a little skeptical when I saw the first pictures, but since I tried them and my heels did not come out of the shoes after landing some moves just like in Quantums I was quite impressed ☺ In the video I managed to hit some new moves and fresh combos, which I was satisfied with considering I have not really played the first 2 months of this year due to the injury and I just started playing more often before Todexon. Also it was just second session I had in the shoes. I guess I will still keep playing in lavers because I am just so used to them, but I can recommend Nucleus as a solid footbag shoes. They might also help to improve style and execution as well, which I find the most important!

Asmus: Could you talk a little about what place footbag have in your life right now?

Honza: After the decision to get back to the game is footbag very big part of my life. I found a way how to enjoy the game much more and the new footbag generation inspired and for example it is quite a big motivation to keep up with guys like Milan. Especially Milan because after Vasek got more interested in freestyle football these days Milan became the best player in the World. I can now see the disagreeing faces of many ☺, but without any doubts or questions he is the best player at the moment! His stamina is magnificent, his execution is spectacular and the combos are just insane! That is actually why we teamed up for doubles this year ☺, so hopefully we will be able to find time to prepare nice and solid routine.

Asmus: If you could change one thing in footbag what would it be?

Honza: It is so hard to pick just one thing. I would love to have professional judges in the sport, but I would also like the sport to be more famous with better acceptance from the general public, which would probably bring more professionality. More mature people with organising skills could help as well. On the other hand it is hard to guess what would be the consequences of that.
It is very hard question, however I would probably want the sport to be more commercial and we will see what would happen ☺

Asmus: Thanks alot for the interview Honza. Best of luck in the future.

The boys from Fourkast were badass enough to give us this nice little video of Jay Boychuk in a beautifully synchronized video. Jay is on the front lines of the freetyle moment, blending style with a technical variety that creates a unique artistic flow!

Thanks again Jay (along with Fourkast for producing this!!!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJ4ftOxPkPA

“Just a light day of shred from Jay Boychuk, in approval of the new Canadian spring weather. If you enjoyed this video, lace up your lavers, grab your 32 and go kick. Comment below on how much fun you had, we at Fourkast would love to read it.”

Syndicated with permission from Fourkast Footbag Company

I randomly came across this new video of my old friend Ryan Mulroney performing at some kind of Honda shindig. It was up on the Honda station on youtube, which piqued my interest. Ryan has been retired for some time now, but every once in a while he steps back into the spotlight to perform a demo or two. This looks like one of those times. I am checking on the backstory right now. In the meantime, you can see the video here!

Ryan Mulroney Honda Routine Video

Syndicated with permission from Fourkast Footbag Company

Throughout footbag’s short history, we have had a wide range of peaks and plateaus. There have been grand leaps forward as well as small steps back. The ups and downs of footbag began in the early 1970′s with creators John Stalberger and Mike Marshall. From one decade to the next, there have been major trend shifts within the sport, with public perception all the while remaining mostly complex. The 2000′s alone have been a roller coaster ride regarding participation, exposure and organization. The fluctuating trend of freestyle footbag is the focus of this article, as it is the area with which I have come to be most familiar through the years. This article is based on my observations in the sport, as well historical information provided by John Stalberger and Kenny Shults. Although we have had quite a ride in the past decade, freestyle footbag’s intricate pattern of gain and recession began modestly in 1972. To understand where we are today, one has to look back to see how the sport arrived here.

The Beginning (1970′s)

In 1972, John Stalberger and Mike Marshall patented a new invention they hoped would energize the masses and catch on as a new form of sport and fitness. Their invention was given the trademark name ‘Hacky Sack’ which was essentially a flat leather bag (similar to a pancake) filled with beads.

A rare picture of one of the original Hacky Sack footbags

Knowing they had something completely new on their hands (at least to western audiences), the two innovators realized they had to construct a sport around their initial product. Thus, the game of footbag was born. Hacky Sack was the company and specific product title, footbag was the larger sport surrounding it. From here the two men began to promote their sport feverishly. They worked diligently to advertise it commercially, and created the first tournaments and regulations further to support it. When Mike Marshall died in the mid 1970′s, Stalberger carried on their work with the help of other promoters such as Ted Huff and Garwin Bruce. It was in this time frame that footbag experienced its initial growth, at a grassroots level. Images of players from this era are as one might expect with tie dye shirts, headbands, long hair and tube socks. This was the initial image of the footbag player in the seventies. Though it was a fully accepted image for the time, it also created a stereotype that has lasted far beyond those formative years.

Though freestyle footbag would not be created until the late seventies, the roots of it were formed during those early years with the tournament scene and advancements in footbag design. It was a gradual rise, but toward the end of the decade, Stalberger’s sport gained larger exposure. Thus began footbag’s fad stage. From here, the name Hacky Sack (but not the word ‘footbag’) would become a household name. This was the first boom in the sport, leading into the early eighties.

Two early pictures of John Stalberger promoting footbag

The Fad (1980′s)

In the seventies, the sport had been on the rise, and so had its iconic players. Stalberger himself gain notoriety as the inventor/promoter of the sport, and towards the late seventies such foundation laying players as Jack Schoolcraft (considered the grandfather of freestyle) were also gaining notice within the sport. But it wasn’t until a young player named Kenny Shults hit the scene that the sport had its first bona fide footbag super star, known to both the public and the internal community. Shults dominated much of the footbag realm. He broke many records both in net and consecutives, but it was in freestyle that many believe was his strongest contribution. Shults propelled the game of freestyle footbag years ahead, and created many of the foundation tricks that are utilized today. The basic concept of the ‘combo’ was introduced by Shults, who was inspired by Freestyle Frisbee at the time. Kenny Shults was to footbag what Michael Jordan was to basketball. Now the sport had an icon to showcase; a young driven player who would dominate across the board and set records. This added legitimacy to the sport, and significantly helped with its promotion during this stage. Hacky Sack was a household name, and the tournament scene and interest in playing boomed during the early eighties. Although the appearance of Shults was bringing more of a spotlight to footbag, another trend that haunts the competitive footbag scene was formed; a divergence between ‘casual kickers’ or ‘hacky sackers’, and ‘hard core’ players.

Kenny Shults performing a spike in footbag net, just one of the many footbag disciplines he dominated

While Hacky Sack was well known publicly, footbag was not. We have seen this with other sports as well, such as the use of the name ‘Ping Pong’ to describe the sport of Table Tennis. Hundreds of thousands of people owned a Hacky Sack, playing casually while in school, or on lunch at work. Unfortunately, this did not necessarily translate to the tournament scene; many people were simply happy playing here and there, some unaware at all of a deeper competitive arena.

The Famous Wham-O Hacky Sack blow up, commonly seen in the eighties at various footbag tournaments

By the mid 1980′s, John Stalberger had sold his trademark to Wham-O, a company that had interest in increasing the sales of the Hacky Sack. As the tournament scene grew, the fad of hacky sack settled down in the late 1980’s, and footbag would head into its first plateau, or time of slower growth.

The popular Hacky Sack footbag model from the 1980′s

Slow Growth of the Freestyle Underground Scene (1990′s)

By the early 1990′s, Kenny Shults was still dominating across the board, but was now joined in freestyle by other new sensations such as Rick Reese, Dave Yevin and Peter Irish. Freestyle footbag had become a sub-culture sport, with small tournaments (and a few larger ones) popping up around North America. Outside of this area however, very few other countries played. The competitive freestyle scene was a tight-knit community; all the top players were well known to each other, and in many cases, good friends. This has always been possibly footbag’s greatest attribute; it simply is a very social and interconnected sport. We have seen the numbers in freestyle footbag go up and down, but this one point has never changed. Today when I promote footbag, it is not just the physicality of the sport that is a selling point, but also the rich community of the good people who play. You’re not just playing footbag; you are tapping into a positive social network. The foundations of this can certainly be traced to the grassroots movement of the seventies, and the tightly connected community of the nineties. It was once humorously remarked by Peter Irish that he could count the handful of people who could execute the Around the World move. This statement wasn’t far off in the least; during the late eighties until the later nineties, there were really only a handful of top players dominating freestyle, all of which lived in the United States.

Peter Irish, considered by many to be the icon of freestyle footbag in the 1990′s

In the days before the mass use of the internet, the only way freestylers could learn and get better was to attend/host events and build local groups. This is exactly what happened during this time frame; many footbag groups rose up around the nation, dedicated to either freestyle or net. Some of the strongest areas of footbag included Denver, Colorado, and San Francisco, California. Ironically, though we have more people playing today, we have less footbags clubs currently than we did a decade ago. I will elaborate on this point shortly.
I have always thought that footbag’s greatest fight was with its perceived image to the masses. This issue seemed to reach its height during the nineties. Freestyle footbag grew very slowly between 1990 and 1999 as it was constantly battling the ‘hippy slacker’ image. Footbag was no longer a fad, and many people assumed that its time had come and gone. There was very little exposure in the first part of the nineties to counteract the majority’s belief that footbag was simply a ‘stoners’ game. Because of this, gains in attendance were modest, although the technicality of the sport continued to rise. Though the popularity of hacky sack had declined from the previous decade, the microcosm of freestyle footbag was in fact building gradually. Upon joining the sport in the mid nineties, my first exposure to competitive freestyle play was from a common underground source; Kenny Shults’ classic instructional VHS tape entitled ‘Trick of the Trade’. This was being distributed by one of the few true footbag companies at the time, the World Footbag Association. In addition, the Flying Clipper also commercially represented footbag in those earlier days. Unfortunately Wham-O (the largest company) was not focused on the competitive footbag scene but rather spread its interests across many different product lines. Luckily for the mid nineties footbag generation, a new website had entered the picture, one that would quickly represent the base and library for the sport.

I can’t deny that I was more or less a child of footbag.org. Not long after I received Tricks of the Trade, I went online (for the first time really) and found the quintessential website to our sport. It had a few pictures and videos up from recent events, as well as a generous amount of information about the tournament scene. This would end up being the great connector that would not only bring the sport together, but also drive up our exposure and interest. From the mid to the late nineties, freestyle footbag continued to slowly grow and gain new people. I believe this coincided with more and more people logging on to the internet and footbag.org. In the late nineties, a small but prominent footbag scene had arisen in Europe as well. Inspired by such greats as Peter Irish and Ryan Mulroney, the seeds of freestyle footbag’s greatest boom were being quietly planted.

The Boom (Early to mid 2000′s)

Between 2000 and 2002 a great deal happened in freestyle footbag. Ryan Mulroney finally became the World Footbag Champion, only to hold it for a mere two years before the great European onslaught. Initially, not much attention had been focused on the European scene; if footbag was small in North America, it was huge in comparison to our counterparts across the Atlantic. That changed rather quickly in 2001, with what can be described as no less than a European invasion into the sport. In retrospect, it could have been the previous generation of European players grooming their next gen shredders, or the enormous influence of Ryan Mulroney via internet videos and VHS tapes that evolved their freestyle scene, or quite simply footbag.org. Whatever the case, there was a large influx of players joining the tournament scene in 2001, led by a young freestyler from the Czech Republic named Vasek Klouda. I have already written about Klouda’s rise to fame;

http://www.fourkast.com/magazine/article/vasek/the-day-vasek-took-over

Klouda’s ascent happened meteorically to say the least. Freestyle footbag exploded along with him, and suddenly forums were buzzing, videos and DVD’s were out and about and freestyle footbag even managed to make its way into commercials on occasion. Other countries/regions such as New Zealand, Australia, Japan and South America would also develop new scenes. Exposure was the highest it had been since the eighties, thanks in no small part to the online push and an inspired new footbag star to play icon. Exciting sites like flipsider.com and freedomfootbags.com had grown in popularity, and local clubs were still enjoying strong solidarity from the decade before. The capital of freestyle shifted from North America to Prague, and in 2003, the first non-North American World Footbag Championships were held in the Czech capital. Due to the internet, players no longer required a local footbag group to learn and improve. This would also prove to be a double-edged sword later on. In the meantime however, the sport saw its attendance double if not triple, and there were even some occasional breakthroughs into mainstream culture. For the first time in a while, everything was new and exciting again in footbag. This continued until late 2007.

A young Vasek Klouda shreds, circa 2003

Plateau (Later 2000′s)

No boom lasts forever, we have learned this from previous generations in the sport. What I have noticed in my years with footbag is that we go through cycles in popularity and membership. For footbag, the later 2000′s showed a noticeable slowing of momentum for the game. This can be attributed to a few things.

The Club Scene

First, the local group scene had taken a hit in the mid and later 2000′s. As I mentioned before, it is ironic to me that there are far more players now than there were in the 90′s, but less organized clubs. The reason for this is that with the rise of online exposure people did not need clubs to get better, or to learn about the sport. Jorden Moir’s classic basement shred videos are a testament to this. A player could learn and increase skill without another freestyler around for hundreds of miles. This is precisely what happened; more and more players were “sprinkled” everywhere, and less condensed in groups (especially in North America). As attendance rose, clubs declined, leaving a handful of strong groups again in North America. Unfortunately, as the excitement of the early 2000′s died down, membership dropped a bit, and the lower club status still did not improve.

The Chicago Inner Circle (CIC) Footbag Group, one of the U.S.’s largest footbag groups, circa 2002

The Sole Purpose Footbag Group from Portland Oregon, from 2008

Tournaments

With the drop in clubs came a smaller showing of tournaments and events. It started during the mid 2000′s with the showing of more ‘jams’ than heavily organized tournaments. After a little while, the number of jams decreased as well. Without a solid group to host an event, the event will usually suffer. It is a sizeable task to run a decent footbag competition, which many times can be a thankless job. With less organized clubs came fewer events on the whole. This is what we are seeing in North America right now, with the exception of a few major events such as the US Open and the New Years Jam/Tournament. In Europe, long running events such as Todexon and the European Championships still remain solid, as well as some key country tournaments (the Polish/Finnish Footbag Championships).

Phillip Morrison is mobbed by cameras at the 2008 World Footbag Championships

The Youth

A great and interesting thing happened in the early 2000′s. The average age of the freestyle footbag player dropped as many teenage players entered the sport. This was good on many levels; it raised the energy level and innovation of the game, and most importantly rejuvenated footbag for the next generation. Few drawbacks came with this shift, I can only think of two. The first point is that with the younger generation, they simply have a harder time getting to events. Whether it be a lack of funds, transportation or parental permission, it is more difficult for them to go great distances than their 1990′s mid to late twenties counterparts. For this reason, tournament attendance in the later 2000′s had taken a small hit.

The other point is that the younger players entering the sport did not have the experience to run events, and not enough older players had chosen to stick around to coordinate. The result again became fewer organized tournaments. I will always have a great amount of respect for the people who are willing to take up the cause of organization in footbag, especially in the younger generation. I remember attending an event it 2006, in which a young player had chosen to take the reigns of the event as tournament director. He was a bit stressed by the event (but non-the-less confident) when I ran into him just outside the venue. Apparently, someone had come up and criticized aspects of the tournament to him, and he was a bit put off. I broke it down to him that he was in fact doing a good job (the absolute truth), and that we had nothing but great respect for what he was doing. Running tournaments can be a task; as the older generation retires and moves on, that very task is by default left to the remaining players in the sport.

A final point regarding the young generation from the early 2000′s is that they simply got older. Responsibilities set in, whether it is school, family or work. It’s no secret that during the teenage years an individual might have more time to devote to their hobbies than once they hit the workforce. I personally watched this scenario play out a few times, with friends simply getting too busy or sidetracked to stay vested in the scene. Life happens. From time to time I find myself reminding a player that footbag does not need to be an all or nothing activity. It is easy to feel this way at times; a freestyler can get burnt out or sidetracked with other things. Footbag in its most basic form is still a phyical activity, and can be viewed simply as cardio excerise when needed. A player does not need to be “in it to win it” all the time, but can simply play to get some exercise in, or for the simple joy of it. This is another point to remember, and can help side step a complete burn out.

Ricky Moran of Seattle WA, a great up and coming player from the early 2000′s

Europe

In Europe, footbag was exciting and fresh in the early 2000′s. As time went on, the newness wore off, and again footbag settled in for the long haul. When its sensation did slow down, it was inevitable that attendance would lower to some degree. Europe is not quite what it was in 2003 for footbag, but is still doing very well. It is certainly not a light that is going to go out any time soon.

A classic picture from the 2003 World Footbag Championships, held for the first time in Europe (in Prague to be exact)

Economic Effect

The effects of the 2008 economic crash can be felt in many areas, and of course freestyle footbag was not immune from this. If it was difficult for the younger players to get to events due to finances, the global recession certainly hasn’t helped the cause. As capital has dried up with consumers and companies alike, less has been possible across the board. On the players’ end, a cutback in discretionary funds was imminent. On the potential sponsorship side, funds simply dried up. Sponsorship for almost every sport, big or small, was cut back in late 2008 and 2009; even the microcosm of freestyle footbag was affected. Quite simply, money wasn’t flowing, people weren’t traveling as much and tournament numbers were marginally down. The domino effect from up high seemed to have trickled all the way down into our developing sport.

2010 (Now)

As of the writing of this article, freestyle footbag is again in a generational transition (one that occurs every seven to ten years as I have seen it). Veteran players are retiring (some too young in my opinion), while the next players in line are stepping up to take those coveted top spots. Fresh faces are popping up, as is fresh interest in the sport. Vasek continues to reign in competition, and his shadow still stands tall over freestyle. Though the sport is not quite at the place it was in 2003-2004, this can simply be seen as part of the cycle footbag has been going through for thirty-plus years. Three steps forward, one step back, it would seem. Whether we see another boom or gradual growth is unclear; it almost seems too soon for another explosion, but you never know. Footbag has many attributes, and a few hurdles. Issues to be addressed include footbag’s image problem (to be examined in another article), and its need for proper exposure and funding. This being said, there are many exciting things afoot. As we have started to witness a transition of players, so too has there been a flux in promotional interest. Below are just a few things, both currently happening and on the horizon, in freestyle footbag.

Websites:

For many years there was a lack of good footbag websites outside of footbag.org. Flipsider managed to bring some much needed style and hype, but for some time a decent site such as this was few and far between. Here is a list of just a few current and recommended sites.

www.footbag.org
This site is the essential library and information source for footbag. footbag.org has been around for quite some time, and plays lynch pin for the footbag community. From learning about clubs and tournaments to watching videos and studying the rules of the game, this site has it all. It is also home to the non-profit IFPA (International Footbag Players Association), another great offering by Steve Goldberg, Chris Ott, and crew.

www.worldfootbag.com
The World Footbag Association has been in business for many years, and has supported the internal community generously. In their early years, they organized many footbag events (including the World Footbag Championships more than once), and today continue to promote the scene by getting decent product and apparel to the masses. They also practice fair trade business, and universally cater to the casual kicker and freestyler alike.

www.freedomfootbags.com
Freedom Footbags was started by my very good friend Daryl Genz, a multi-time Doubles World Champion. Freedom began modestly, catering to the internal freestyle community. This has been their perceived base for many years; they have essentially worked grassroots style to promote the scene. More recently, Daryl’s wife Sunny Freeman Genz took over the company, and together they continue to honorably promote the sport and its tournament scene. You’ll rarely find people more genuine and likable than Daryl and Sunny; they have put their heart into their business and it shows.

www.planetfootbag.com
Planet Footbag has represented the sport in Europe for some time now. They have been present at or sponsored many footbag tournaments in that region, and have acted as promoters of footbag continuously. In the mid 2000′s they produced a popular footbag shoe called the Quantum, no small feat for sure. Today they continue to supply Europe with quality footbag products and information.

www.modified.in
This is freestyle footbag’s main internal forum. If you want to know what is going on in the “hard core” freestyle community, this is the place to check. People on modified.in constantly interact about what is happening in the scene; it is a good place to check up on the day to day happenings in freestyle footbag. The members there are very friendly and welcoming; this again is a common attribute in footbag. There is a great video links section as well that is regularly updated. And for the title of the forum itself; the reference is to modified shoes of course!

www.shredglobal.com
This newer website is dedicated to covering freestyle footbag news by tapping into blog and news syndication around the net. The operators of the site are part of the internal scene, and have been good at staying updated on current freestyle affairs. Great promotional work Shred Global!

www.fourkast.com
Of course we are proud to throw our hat into the circle of footbag promotion. The Fourkast Footbag Company was created to tackle a few different things in footbag, including the perception and image of the sport (no small challenge). We believe a sharper and more defined image needs to be promoted for footbag to grow; this is one of the Fourkast site’s main objectives. Keeping people excited and interested with footbag is Fourkast’s number one goal; we work to do this with both the internal community and the general masses. As an association of individuals working to promote footbag professionally, we are honored to keep up the good fight!

Outside the websites, there are some great projects currently on the table to excite the people. A Worlds Championships in San Francisco was recently announced; this follows a very successful 2009 Worlds in Berlin that left the players energized. A few high-quality video projects are also slated for this year, originating from both sides of the Atlantic. We even have a new footbag shoe (the Nucleus), with the possibility of more apparel on the horizon (shoes are of course a key element in our sport). Then there is the question of the top players themselves; who will step up for the new competitive generation? Such newer players as Milan Benda (from the Czech Republic), Anssi Sundberg (from Finland), Norek Dudzinski (from Poland), Nick Landes (from the US) and Johnny Suderman (from Canada) have brought great things to the table in recent years. From our status quo top players I still expect greatness too; their time on top passes only at their choosing. For new thinkers and organizers, Ianek Regimbald, Jay Boychuk and Anssi Sundberg (to name just a few) can be applauded for their dedication to improving the internal scene and system. We need good people both in the spotlight and behind the scenes to push the sport along.

Milan Benda is considered to be the ‘next gen’ of the Czech freestyle crew, and is one of the top new school players in the sport

Summary

Freestyle continues to represent the tip of the iceberg that is footbag. Hundreds of thousands of people casually play, with possibly a few thousand players active in the technical side of the game. This ratio can be found on a larger scale in other sports as well; Table Tennis, for example, has millions of casual players, but far fewer high level competitive players. This is something to remember. The ratio always leans towards casual play in any game/sport. The difference from other sports and ours is one of awareness; though many people play footbag and “hack it up” on a regular basis, not all are aware of a deeper competitive aspect and scene. Entities outside the sport are not conscious of freestyle or worse yet have a preconceived notion of it based off an old stereotype. This may be the most important point in footbag promotion -spreading awareness. Not everyone who plays footbag has to learn freestyle, but it would be advantageous for the casual player to be at least aware of the freestyle scene.

Aside from educating the masses about freestyle footbag, much work still needs to be done demographically. The ratio of male to female freestyle players is still very far from decent, but this is not an isolated issue to just footbag. Many other/larger sports including skateboarding suffer from this dilemma; there simply are far fewer females vested in these sports than males. Soccer however is one sport that has a strong ratio between male and female players. This point may prove helpful to footbag in the future, as the foot-related sports do in fact complement each other.

A picture of many of the female players from the 2003 Worlds

The sport’s ethnic demographic could stand improvement as well. Footbag is still largely played by white middle class teenage to late twenties males. There is indeed room to grow. With soccer in fact being the number one sport in the world, its popularity could be utilized to promote footbag in other cultures. The fact that freestyle footbag is a very urban sport could also be better promoted (all you really need is a footbag, shoes and possibly some concrete). It is an inexpensive and very accessible sport. This is something everyone can appreciate, and so should be a strong selling point. Finally, in other parts of the world there are already foot contact games similar to our sport; Takraw is one example, Shuttlecock and Chinlone are two others. Branching out to meet these related disciplines certainly won’t hurt the cause, and it could potentially build new bridges that help expand our sport outside its current demographic.

Soccer players in Honduras take a moment to kick footbag

Internally, though it would seem freestyle footbag is in a plateau compared to the early 2000′s, from experience I believe it will continue to move forward. The real question is how quickly or gradually this will occur. The cycle seems to be one first fair gain, then plateau. As fluctuations occur, a player should feel confident that the sport is always in motion. Compared to the mid 1990′s, we have made many advances and we are quite a bit larger. The game of footbag will always continue to exist, as long as there are those hundreds of thousands of people who own some type of footbag and play. This base alone ensures footbag will continue; it is still essential that freestyle draws from this point. Anywhere someone picks up a footbag to either “hack it up” or “shred”, the sport is still alive and kicking. On the freestyle end of things, I can optimistically say that we are progressing into new territory. Sometimes this happens by leaps, sometimes by only subtle gains. An understanding of this goes along with understanding the sport and the scene in general. Such as life, footbag has its ups and downs; times of progression followed by moments of recession. The best advice I can give is this; be excited by the ups and not discouraged by the downs. It’s all part of the process of a growing sport. Whether freestyle footbag jumps to new heights, or gradually moves forward, at the very least I am happy I can still go out and play solo or with my friends. Isn’t that what it’s all about?

We are looking for every word, phrase, or term used in the Freestyle Footbag Community. What we are looking for is to create the central database for freestyle nomenclature (whoa big word) on the internet. Since everyone does not play together (they obviously should) we are attempting to bridge the language gap between the west side, east side, and all other sided shredder across the land.

For prizes, we may have a:
legendary Hania Bag leftover from our first competition,
a Macro bag from the extremely talented Marco Hartig,
some really sharp Fourkast Footbag T-shirts,
Some awfully designed Shred Global T-shirts,
and a gaggle of other useful stuff!

The rules are as follows.

1) head to this page and look at the current list of words and phrases! Freestyle Footbag VOCAB Page

2) You are allowed to add one Vocabulary word plus definition (as a comment on the vocab page) per day. You may also attempt to change an existing definition if it appears to be wrong.

3) On March 25th, you can add up to three vocabulary words plus definitions (as a comment on the vocab page) per day in case you started late.

4) The Winner(s) (from 1 to 5 depending on the amount submitted) will be based on the amount of usable vocabulary words and definitions added to the page!

Any questions? email Editor@shredglobal.com

www.fourkast.com

Fourkast Footbag Video Magazine 6: Milan Benda. This incredibly talented young freestyler shows his abilities. Filmed and edited by Eric Chang, 2010.

Syndicated with permission from Fourkast Footbag Company

2010 WORLD FOOTBAG CHAMPIONSHIPS AND 2010 US OPEN FOOTBAG CHAMPIONSHIPS ANNOUNCED!

It’s official! Two great events have been announced today. After months of wondering where it was going to happen, it has been announced that the World Footbag Championships will again be held in the Bay Area; Oakland California to be exact. There was much speculation on the event this year, but in the zero hour our good friend and Marketing Director for the IFPA (International Footbag Players Association) threw in his bid for Oakland California. Presumedly the event will be hosted by the Chaos Footbag Group, as well as the Bay Area Footbag League. Here are the dates and details;

2010 WORLD FOOTBAG CHAMPIONSHIPS

Where: Oakland California

When: August 1st-7th, 2010

More details can be found here;

http://www.footbag.org/events/show/1265745512

For forum discussion, you can check it here;

http://modified.in/footbag/viewtopic.php?t=21082

If this wasn’t exciting news enough, another great announcement (and tie in to Worlds) was posted shortly after the initial Worlds notification. In association with the Chris Ott (the director of Worlds), the Sole Purpose Footbag Group will be hosting the 2010 US Open Freestyle Footbag Championships one week before Worlds (July 24th-26th). The US Open is one of the largest footbag events in North America, and the only one that crowns a US Champion for footbag. The idea is that a ‘circuit’ is being created between the two major events. Along with the US Open will be the annual Water Temple Jam, held ceremoniously after the official tournament completes. In the five days between the end of the US Open Championships and the beginning of Worlds Championships, freestyle footbag players are being invited to train in Portland for the big event starting the next week. This is being billed as the ‘Sumer of Footbag’, truly a very exciting two weeks in the sport of footbag. If you are a footbag player, these two events are something to seriously consider! Here are the details on the US Open Freestyle Footbag Championships;

2010 US OPEN FREESTYLE FOOTBAG CHAMPIONSHIPS

Where: Portland Oregon/Vancouver Washington (same area)

When: July 24th-26th, 2010

More details will be announced as it goes, here are Fourkast we will be working to unveil some exciting new things to these events as well, much more information to come!

Event details:

2010 US OPEN FREESTYLE FOOTBAG CHAMPIONSHIPS

Forum discussion:

http://modified.in/footbag/viewtopic.php?p=438940#438940

Syndicated with permission from Fourkast Footbag Company

By Anssi Sundberg and Jay Boychuk

When you become interested in freestyle footbag it is common to want to do what you see the elite do in videos. While there is no clear direct route in footbag to get to the top, there are many common habits, techniques and mindsets that will make the progression from the beginning stages much faster. Along your way your fellow players and personal success will keep you motivated, however it is important to note that there are always highs and lows of progress. Those who have been through these obstacles before are writing this article to make your start more oriented, continuous and most importantly, fun! If you use these tips you will get the hang of things faster and start progressing as a freestyle footbagger.

Obtain information. If you don’t personally know any players, you can get information about the sport on the internet. Search for as much information on as many different pages as possible and absorb it. Footbag has a lot of unique and descriptive terms, and it is useful to learn them and use them fluently. Learn trick names, study the tricks from videos, and you will start to recognize them as well as their components. Once you fully understand a variety of tricks, begin to think about which ones you want to learn.

Make contacts. Be bold in making contact with other players and clubs. On internet forums you can easily discuss with other players, ask questions and get many specific tips. Because everyone’s body is different, and learns things uniquely you can learn footbag easiest with an experienced player, in real time. You should try to find out about other players and clubs close to you and if they have frequent sessions. Although playing with experienced players can be intimidating by the vast difference in skill, all freestylers are more than happy to help.

Get proper gear. If you are serious about becoming a good freestyler, you must also invest the amount of money into the gear. On the internet it’s easy to order freestyle shoes and a good freestyle footbag from reliable sites, such as www.fourkast.com. For best performance, the gear you get for freestyle will need some adjusting to your needs, like a baseball glove. Read tutorials online and watch videos of how to properly modify your shoes and break in your footbags.

Start from the basics. Basic kicks must be mastered before learning to stall, because learning this vital tool is a great stepping stone for habits in the future. Always when learning something new the foundation must be solid, without any holes. It is important also to note that learning both sides is fundamental in creating a good foundation. Footbag at it’s highest level, unlike many other sports is perfectly ambidextrous.

Practice. Practice makes perfect. In footbag, once you hit a trick one time, that doesn’t mean your body will be capable of hitting it in all conditions at all times. A good goal for mastering a trick is to be able to hit it ten times, in ten tries. Sometimes repeating something over and over might become boring but practicing pays off in development. When you come across an overwhelming obstacle, stop and take a minute to observe the situation from another point of view. Why did you succeed? How can you use this success to model future ones?

Learn from the best. Along the path to becoming a good freestyle player, you will meet many beginner freestyle friends along the way. However, always take their advice with a grain of salt, due to the fact that their advice hasn’t been precisely refined over thousands of hours, to perfection like the elite. Ask feedback from better players and value development proposals more than compliments. Watch videos of your favorite players and learn from their technique.

Set goals. Never be satisfied with your current level, and never consider yourself the worst or the best player. Having and meeting obtainable goals is an important part of growing motivation. You’ll find if you ask professional players, in their formative years they all had and made goals that got them where they are today.

Continue. Practicing can feel like having fun one day and like work on the other, all part of the ups and downs. The best players got to be the best because they practiced even when it felt like work. Once you reach a certain level, you can learn to love to practice because you realize how beneficial it is to progression.

Help others. After all the practicing when you get good, it’s your turn to help out the newcomers in this sport. Relate to their hardships and give them your experience that could help them along their way, and enjoy seeing their success. Footbag is a great community, have fun!